An investigation by Greenpeace into hazardous materials present in the most popular game consoles has revealed that Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360 have all tested postitive.

The investigation, entitled 'Playing Dirty' has revealed:

The use of hazardous chemicals and materials in electronic products is widespread. Despite some recent improvements – a result of a combination of legal restrictions in some parts of the world, and voluntary action by companies – many devices still contain a variety of hazardous substances.

So what are the big boys doing about it? Well, the report states that Microsoft has made a commitment to eliminate the use of PVC and BFRs in its hardwareby 2010 . Sony committed to phase out PVC and certain uses of BFRs by 2010, though only for its mobile products and not including game consoles other than the PSP and Nintendo very recently committed to eliminate PVC in its products, but failed to give a timeline for doing so .

Amongst other things, the report concluded that:

All three consoles included PVC-based materials containing other types of plasticiser chemicals, principally a mellitate and various adipates, at apparently high levels in some instances. The use of these substances provides flexibility to the materials without the use of phthalates, but raises similar concerns regarding the potential for resulting exposure to, and toxicity of, these leachable chemical additives. Rather than providing reassurance, therefore, their presence highlights the reliance on leachable additives that stems from the use of PVC as a material and the value in replacing PVC with polymers that do not require the use of such additives.

What does this mean to the consumer? Well, if you read the long report on the official Greenpeace website you can come to your own conclusions. As far as we can gather, you shouldn't try licking your console for any sustained period.